| |
|
|
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, The stagecoach, a quintessential symbol of the |
|
|
American frontier, played a pivotal role in the founding of the city |
|
|
of Bridgeport and continues to hold special significance to the |
|
|
community to this day; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Bridgeport traces its beginnings to 1860, when a |
|
|
group organized by William H. Hunt secured a charter from the West |
|
|
Fork Bridge Company to construct a bridge that would allow |
|
|
stagecoaches with the Overland Mail Company to traverse the West |
|
|
Fork of the Trinity River; the shipment of supplies by stagecoaches |
|
|
and wagons became integral to Bridgeport's economy and helped shape |
|
|
the community's development in its early decades; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, With its annual Butterfield Stage Days Festival, |
|
|
Bridgeport has long celebrated its origin as a stop on the historic |
|
|
Butterfield Overland Mail route, which stretched from St. Louis, |
|
|
Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, to San Francisco, California; in |
|
|
recent years, the route has garnered increased recognition for its |
|
|
historical importance, and it was officially designated as the |
|
|
Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail in January 2023; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In addition to Butterfield Stage Days, Bridgeport |
|
|
incorporates the stagecoach into a number of other annual events, |
|
|
and the Bridgeport Visitor Center houses a replica Abbot-Downing |
|
|
Concord coach, a stagecoach originally manufactured in 1827; |
|
|
moreover, the city's efforts as part of the Texas Main Street |
|
|
Program also incorporate the stagecoach as an embodiment of |
|
|
Bridgeport's historic past and frontier spirit; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Through its legacy as a historic transportation |
|
|
waypoint and its connection to the famed Butterfield Overland Mail |
|
|
route, Bridgeport contributed to the development of our state and |
|
|
nation, and its citizens continue to derive a special sense of pride |
|
|
and identity from their city's association with one of the West's |
|
|
most iconic symbols, the stagecoach; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby redesignate Bridgeport as the official Stagecoach Capital of |
|
|
Texas; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
|
|
391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
|
|
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
|
|
passed by the legislature. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |